The next stage of Square Enix’s new Final Fantasy VII franchise arrives in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion. In the brand-new remaster, you play as a Shinra soldier named Zack Fair, who has ties to Cloud and Sephiroth. Set seven years before the start of Final Fantasy VII, Zack embarks on a journey that unveils some dark Shinra truths. As his investigation into the corporation continues he’ll find himself jammed into the beginning of a mystery that may have dire consequences for any getting too close.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is a 2022 action RPG and remaster of the 2007 remaster. It was developed by Tose and published by Square Enix. It is available on PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

Editor’s Note: Spoilers for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion and Final Fantasy VII Remake may be present in this review. A Playstation review copy for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion was provided by Square Enix in support of this review.

The prequel to Final Fantasy VII gets remastered in Crisis Core Reunion.

Set years before Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core stars Zack Fair; a Shinra soldier who learns about the darker secrets of his employer. As the story goes on, you learn about Zack and several other central Final Fantasy VII characters’ histories that led them to their presence in the main game. This also includes their meeting with Fair and his direct and indirect impacts on their lives, namely those of Aerith and Cloud. Having befriended Cloud, he delves deeper into Shinra’s mysterious operations, and the two work together to stop them.

Zack Fair returns to Final Fantasy.

THE GOOD: Shinra soldier Zack Fair and his mentor Angeal Hewley are deployed on a mission together to Wutei. Shortly after Angela vanishes and Zack is tasked with finding him and another soldier named Genesis Rhapsodos who also disappeared. Now paired with Tseng he learns that the former have deserted Shinra and has been ordered to kill them with Sephiroth. A scientist who has a grudge against Shinra named Dr. Hollander aids Genesis in creating clones of himself to attack Shinra HQ. Zack & Sephiroth defeat the clones and track down Hollander’s lab where they learn Angeal and Genesis are test subjects in his Project G experiment to create super soldiers using Jenova cells. Sephiroth battles Genesis while Zack chases Hollander, but he’s stopped by Angela who wants to be turned back to normal by Hollander.

Zack gets knocked out into the slums of Midgar and is found by Aerith who heals his wounds. After spending some time with Aerith, Zack returns to base which is being attacked by Genesis. Angeal after questioning what he and Genesis were doing aligns himself with Zack & Sephiroth once again and the trio protects HQ. Angeal confronts Genesis and the two leave, Zack is later ordered to investigate Modeoheim where Genesis has been seen frequenting. On the way to his destination, Zack meets Cloud Strife an infantryman, and the two become friends. Before reaching Modeoheim, Zack is confronted by Genesis defeating him in battle.

Genesis seemingly commits suicide by jumping into a reactor and Zack continues to Modeoheim where he meets Angela and Hollander. Angeal, exhausted of all the fighting fuses with his clones and transforms into a monster forcing Zack to kill him. Before his death, he passes down his Buster Sword to Zack telling him to protect his honor. Shinra hunts Hollander and Genesis reappears creating new clones some of which reach Midgar. The clones’ appearance in Midgar forces Zack to return to protect Aerith and after defeating them he leaves Aerith with an Angeal clone to keep her safe. Zack reunites with Cloud and Sephiroth to investigate a Mako reactor in Nibelheim where Sephiroth learns he is also a Hollander experiment from birth.

Genesis ends up meeting with Sephiroth who he needs the cells from due to his body degrading. Sephiroth refuses and locks himself in the Nibelheim mansion after being overwhelmed with all he’s learned. One week later he burns the mansion and takes Jenova’s body believing her to be his “mother”. Zack attempts to stop Sephiroth but fails and Cloud sends the latter into the lifestream of the reactor. Zack awakes to himself & Cloud being captured by Shinra who has covered up the incident at Nibelheim and made the two experiments in Professor Hojo’s Jenova cells project. Zack escapes with an unconscious Cloud and learns that Genesis and Hollander are still trying to repair Genesis’ body using Cloud’s cells due to him possessing Sephiroth’s genes.

Hollander tries to capture Cloud but is killed in the attempt by Zack. Zack finds Director Lazard who’s been transformed into an Angeal clone now turned against Shinra. Lazard leads Zack to Genesis where he kills the latter. He returns to where Lazad was only to find him killed by Shinra. The clone protecting Aerith arrives and is also killed, Zack then learns that he and Cloud were test subjects for four years from a note carried from the clone by Aerith. Zack tries to take Cloud who is dying from Mako poisoning back to Midgar as they’re being chased by Turks. Genesis’ body is taken by Nero and Weiss and Shinra continues to pursue Zack and Cloud. They catch up with the two outside of Shinra, but Zack is rescued by Tseng and the Turks leaving Cloud hidden. Zack fights off a horde of Shinra soldiers and is fatally wounded, as Shinra leaves Cloud returns to Zack who relinquishes Angeal’s Buster Sword to him.

Zack reunites with Angeal in the Lifestream and wonders if he became a hero. A healed Cloud arrives in Midgar where he claims to be a soldier.

Upgrade Zack with XP and Materia.

While Crisis Core Reunion is not as elaborate as Final Fantasy VII Remake, it undergoes significant changes from the original. One of the more obvious is the decision to have the character designs and graphics nearly identical to FFVIIR. Reunion is a remaster not a fully-fledged remake, but it does a commendable job recreating VIIR’s whole aesthetic without straying too far from being Crisis Core and Zack Fair’s story. And taking just a glance at the modern look for Remake that’s a hell of an achievement for what one can assume took significantly less effort in developing with Crisis Core Reunion.

Outside of the artistic changes Crisis Core Reunion has made some quality-of-life changes that make giving a run a less tedious experience. Some of the modernized changes include improved cameras, sprinting while fast-traveling, destination markers, single-button healing, and full-fledged voice acting. These changes while today may seem very minuscule make the remaster feel a world apart from its original PSP counterpart. If you just came off a run from the game while wanting to prepare for Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth it probably feels pretty glaring.

The story itself does a good job of expanding the ever-growing roster of characters and newish world-building for Final Fantasy VII. Focusing on Zack Fair in a solo adventure as a soldier amid Shinra’s war along with his mentor Angeal Hewley. The former eventually meets Cloud Strife becoming friends. Zack himself is a bit of a polarizing figure compared to someone who’s almost instantly likable like Cloud. However, Zack’s character is often expanded through his relationship with others within his world. It’s through these relationships that Zack himself ends up being a much more likable character in his own right, and further shapes him as a strong protagonist for the story.

Crisis Core Reunion’s faster-paced action is probably favorable to fans of recent Final Fantasy efforts.

THE BAD: If you’re expecting upgrades to the Final Fantasy VII Remake level, you might want to take a few steps back. This is a remaster of the original game, meaning some minor tweaks to the controls, gameplay, and visuals are what have mostly been made. That being said, what is presented is impressive compared to most remasters. The story is probably going to confuse the absolute piss out of you if you aren’t too familiar with the original Final Fantasy VII and with that game officially becoming a self-contained multiverse playing it or watching a video essay on it feels very essential.

Crisis Core Reunion is a fine remaster and an even better spinoff.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Crisis Core Reunion further expands the world of Final Fantasy VII, which has become a universe of its & Square Enix’s own making. Going beyond the core mythos Crisis Core validates the idea of no real true Final Fantasy. Any spin-offs or mainline games could have their respective worlds revisited with a new entry when least expected. Hell, Final Fantasy XIII with Lightning has about two sequels or so. Crisis Core Reunion is a good litmus test for exploring the possibility of new games for past entries if this is something Square Enix has considered doing. I’m sure there are fans out there who want more Lightning, XV, etc content if it makes sense for the story.